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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
I know a person who can answer the question.
I know a person who can answer the question.
I know there is no comma, so we do not need to have a pause before "who" but by mistake or because of hesitating or some reasons, can we not have a pause before "who" like
"I know a person.... who can answer the question."
So my question is whether we must not have a pause before restrictive relative clauses or under some conditions pausing also is possible?
I know this question is somewhat odd but I would like to hear from native English speakers' thoughts. Thank you so much in advance,
I know there is no comma, so we do not need to have a pause before "who" but by mistake or because of hesitating or some reasons, can we not have a pause before "who" like
"I know a person.... who can answer the question."
So my question is whether we must not have a pause before restrictive relative clauses or under some conditions pausing also is possible?
I know this question is somewhat odd but I would like to hear from native English speakers' thoughts. Thank you so much in advance,
Top answer
Hi, Consider this. Restrictive - I know a person who can answer the question. By not pausing after 'person', you show the listener that the following information is important.
- Hi, Consider this.
- Restrictive - I know a person who can answer the question.
- By not pausing after 'person', you show the listener that the following information is important.
- You could argue that the listener hears the whole sentence as a single thought.
- Non-restrictive - I know a person , who can answer the question.
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3 Answers
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Hi,
Consider this.
Restrictive - I know a person who can answer the question.
By not pausing after 'person', you show the listener that the following information is important. You could argue that the listener hears the whole sentence as a single thought.
Non-restrictive - I know a person, who can answer the
Consider this.
Restrictive - I know a person who can answer the question.
By not pausing after 'person', you show the listener that the following information is important. You could argue that the listener hears the whole sentence as a single thought.
Non-restrictive - I know a person, who can answer the
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Thank you for the clear and great answer and I met some native English speakers who had a pause in front of defining relative clauses for some reasons, so I think sometimes even native English speakers do not follow the rule of not having pause with defining relative clauses. Is this true? Of course, there are many different style of native English speakers, so it is also possible to see people h
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Hi,
If you pause in a strange place when speaking, the Pause Police will not arrest you. It may just make it a little harder for the listener to follow your meaning. But it's a conversation, so clarification can be requested.
Writing, of course, is different. It's more important t
If you pause in a strange place when speaking, the Pause Police will not arrest you. It may just make it a little harder for the listener to follow your meaning. But it's a conversation, so clarification can be requested.
Writing, of course, is different. It's more important t
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